


No.11 Hallucinations

by LiGi



Series: Febuwhump 2021 [11]
Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Angst, Caring Arthur Pendragon (Merlin), Caring Merlin (Merlin), FebuWhump2021, Fever, Gen, Hallucinations, Hurt Gwaine (Merlin), Hurt/Comfort, Men Crying, Protective Gwaine (Merlin), Sick Character, could be merwaine, no 11
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-11
Updated: 2021-02-11
Packaged: 2021-03-17 16:02:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,404
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29353158
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LiGi/pseuds/LiGi
Summary: Febuwhump 2021 day 11 - HallucinationsGwaine has a high fever and it's making him see horrible things.
Relationships: Gwaine & Arthur Pendragon (Merlin), Gwaine & Merlin & Arthur Pendragon (Merlin), Gwaine & Merlin (Merlin)
Series: Febuwhump 2021 [11]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2137632
Comments: 12
Kudos: 50





	No.11 Hallucinations

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you Onehelluvapilot for betaing - everyone go and check out her febuwhump stories too!

Gaius pulled his hand away from Gwaine’s forehead, frowning deeply.

“The fever has truly set in now,” he said, turning to Arthur.

“What can you do for him?” Arthur asked gravely.

Merlin ignored their hushed conversation, sitting back down on the edge of the bed and rewetting the cloth he was holding to dab Gwaine’s brow again. His friend moaned and tossed his head to the side, his sweat-drenched hair sticking to his face. Merlin gently ran his fingers through it, pushing it back behind his ears.

“You’ll be alright, Gwaine,” he whispered to him, his fingers still smoothing across the knight’s cheekbone.

He was considering trying a spell to help break the fever, but Arthur was still standing in the doorway talking to Gaius. He settled for the cold damp cloth again, wiping Gwaine’s sweaty face.

“Thank you, Merlin,” Gwaine rasped, his voice husky and dry.

He was sitting propped up against the wall in Merlin’s bed, having managed to stagger down to the physician’s chambers when he began feeling unwell and been unable to make it back to his own rooms since. Not that Merlin minded, he was happy to give up his bed for a friend in need, and it meant that he and Gaius had both been on hand when Gwaine’s fever took a turn for the worse.

Arthur collapsed down into the chair beside the bed, his hand falling to clap Gwaine’s knee through the thin blanket Gaius had placed over him.

“How are you feeling?” he asked.

“Not myself,” Gwaine grumbled weakly. He ran a hand over his forehead, pushing his hair back further. “Dizzy, hot.”

“I’m going to get some more tonic,” Merlin said, giving Gwaine’s hand a squeeze before getting up and hurrying down to the main chamber. He sorted through the jars on Gaius’s workbench. Gaius had gone down to the market to pick up more coriander, but there was a little left in the jar. Merlin mixed it with the ground burdock root Gaius had left out and stirred the herbs into a little water.

He heard Gwaine mumbling, talking to Arthur. Then his voice rose, getting louder and frantic.

“Merlin!” Arthur shouted, panic clear in his tone.

Merlin sprinted back up the stairs to his room. Gwaine was staring at something at the end of the bed, his eyes bleary and unfocussed.

“Get away!” he moaned, his hands scrabbling uselessly at his waist, as if trying to draw the sword that wasn’t there.

Merlin quickly put the cup of tonic on the bedside table and sat beside Gwaine again, gently pulling his hands from his waist and holding them firmly.

“Gwaine? What is it?” he asked slowly and calmly.

Arthur’s eyes were darting frantically between Gwaine’s scared face and the point he was staring at, his own hand on his dagger hilt warily.

“No…” Gwaine cried, yanking his hands out of Merlin’s grip. “Get away from me!”

Merlin backed away quickly, his heart clenching. But Gwaine didn’t seem to be talking to him. One hand rose to shakily point at the empty air at the end of the bed.

“Gwaine?” Merlin tried again.

Gwaine pulled his knees up to his chest, which was heaving with gasped breaths, and hugged them. “No, no, no! Get away from me!” he moaned, tears spilling from his eyes now as he scrabbled backwards, pressing himself against the wall.

“Merlin!” Arthur hissed. “Do something!”

“I can’t, he’s hallucinating… I can’t stop it.”

Without knowing what it was Gwaine was seeing, Merlin wasn’t sure how to help him. He sat back down again, inching closer to Gwaine on the bed. Arthur had also shuffled his chair closer, his hands hovering as if he wanted to touch his friend but wasn’t sure if he should. Gwaine was trying to reach for his sword again.

“Get back!” he demanded.

“Gwaine, it’s not real,” Merlin said gently, trying to take his hand. “There’s nothing there.”

Gwaine looked up, his unfocused eyes landing on Merlin’s face and he _screamed_.

“No. Don’t hurt him! Merlin, get down!”

He grabbed Merlin, trying to pull him forwards, away from whatever danger it was that only he could see. Merlin lost his balance and fell off the bed, tumbling to the floor with a bump. Gwaine scrambled up on his knees on the bed, his eyes fixed on the air above Merlin’s head.

“Help him, Arthur!” He snatched at Arthur’s arm, making the prince jump. “They’re going to hurt him.”

“Nothing’s hurting Merlin,” Arthur said firmly. “You know I wouldn’t let that happen.”

Gwaine’s wild eyes darted over to Arthur, honing in on his belt. He lunged forwards, faster than Merlin would have expected him to move in his weakened state, and snatched the dagger from Arthur’s belt.

“No. Gwaine!” Arthur tried to take the dagger back, but Gwaine threw him off, wielding the blade in sharp slashes in front of him.

Merlin leapt to his feet, dodging one of Gwaine’s swings as he tried to get close to him. Arthur grabbed Gwaine’s shoulders, forcing him backwards onto the bed as Merlin caught his wrist and prised his fingers from the dagger hilt.

“NO! Give it back, I need it. I have to stop them!” His hands flailed as he tried to take the dagger back, but Merlin flung it to the corner of the room.

Arthur was wrestling with him, grunting as Gwaine bucked and twisted.

“There’s nothing there. There’s nothing there!” Arthur repeated, but either Gwaine couldn’t hear him, or he wasn’t listening. He wasn’t looking at Arthur, still staring at the thing only he could see.

“Merlin! They’re hurting him! Stop hurting him! Merlin!”

He struggled feebly against Arthur, his hands on Arthur’s wrists trying to push him away, crying out to Merlin. Merlin’s heart ached for him and he felt tears prickling at his own eyes as well. He dithered slightly, not sure if he should go closer. Gwaine seemed panicked when he couldn’t see Merlin, but he got so distressed when his unfocussed eyes landed on Merlin’s face, it was almost better to stay back.

Suddenly, his eyes seemed to focus and darted around the room searchingly.

“They’ve gone…?” he muttered distrustfully, turning his head desperately to either side to see if it was anywhere in sight. After several seconds of frantic searching, he sagged down into the mattress. His grip on Arthur’s arms slackened and tears poured from his eyes as he whimpered. “They’ve gone.”

“Let him go, Arthur,” Merlin said quietly.

“Are you sure?”

Merlin nodded. “It’s finished. The hallucination’s over.”

“Merlin?” Gwaine sobbed, his eyes turning towards the sound of Merlin’s voice.

“Arthur, let him go!”

Arthur sat back and Gwaine curled onto his side, his hands clutching at the screwed up blanket. Merlin dropped to his knees beside the bed so his eyes were level with Gwaine’s.

“Gwaine? I’m here. Can you tell me what happened?” he said softly, his hand stroking Gwaine’s sweaty hair back again.

“Merlin!” He struggled to push himself up, his arms shaking heavily. He threw himself into Merlin’s arms. “You’re alright? You’re not hurt?” He pulled back sharply, cradling Merlin’s face in his trembling hands. “The blood…”

“It wasn’t real. It was a hallucination caused by the fever.”

“I thought they hurt you…” he whispered. “I couldn’t help you…”

Merlin pressed his forehead to Gwaine’s burning sweaty one, wrapping his hand around the back of his neck to hold him there.

“Shhh, it didn’t happen. I’m not hurt.”

He sat like that for a long time, waiting until Gwaine had stopped shaking before pulling back and giving him a soft smile. Arthur was watching helplessly, one hand resting gently on Gwaine’s back.

“Is he alright now?” he asked quietly.

“He will be,” Merlin said encouragingly, guiding Gwaine back into the bed and pulling the blanket across his legs. He picked up the cup of tonic from the bedside table and helped Gwaine drink it, then Arthur passed him the damp cloth so he could wipe Gwaine’s forehead again.

They heard the door to the physician’s chambers open as Gaius got back and Arthur nodded to Merlin before getting up and hurrying down the stairs from Merlin’s room, clearly going to inform Gaius about the hallucination.

Gwaine’s eyes widened as Arthur left and he latched onto Merlin’s hand, squeezing weakly.

“Don’t go…” he whispered.

“I’m not going anywhere,” Merlin replied, squeezing his hand back.

**Author's Note:**

> I love any and all comments!


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